Generally, the present invention relates to electronics packaging and, in particular, the present invention relates to a retention mechanism for mounting an integrated circuit package to a circuit board.
Today there is an increased demand for lightweight and thin electronic devices. This demand has encouraged inventors to look for ways to eliminate or reduce heavy and thick components in electronics packaging. One part of electronics packaging is mounting an integrated circuit to a circuit board. Traditionally, an integrated circuit package was mounted to a circuit board by inserting pins on the integrated circuit package into holes on a connector and then attaching the connector to a circuit board. As the number of pins on integrated circuit packages increases and available space decreases, it is more difficult to insert leads or wires through holes and it requires loose wires and solder.
Traditionally, flat, heavy, and thick plates were used to apply high loads to connectors. The high loads are sometimes necessary to get low contact resistance, which provides good conductivity from the integrated circuit to the circuit board. As a result of the high loads, some connectors and circuit boards warped and were rendered useless. Traditionally, very heavy and thick backing plates were used to try to prevent warping. This is not acceptable for the lightweight and thin devices consumers demand today.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a significant need in the art for a thin, lightweight retention mechanism with a spring force to hold an integrated circuit package to a circuit board.